Method and device for personalizing at least two cards, and card obtained via said method

ABSTRACT

A method of personalization for at least two cards ( 10 ), each card including a first side, a second side, and a peripheral surface, includes the following steps: forming a pile ( 20 ) of at least two cards by stacking the first side or the second side of an article (n) such that the first surface or the second surface of the following card (n+1) is in contact with the first side or the second side of the card (n); aligning, via an alignment device ( 32, 34 ) at least one element of the peripheral surface of the card (n) with at least one element of the peripheral surface of the following card (n+1) such that at least one element of the set of peripheral surfaces of each card forms at least one uniform surface; applying, via an application device, at least one product on at least one element of the uniform surface.

The present invention relates to a method for personalizing at least onecard and more specifically the edge face of these cards, and to thecards obtained by such a method.

A card may be understood to mean a chip card, which may be of thecontactless type, or other items which exhibit features similar to thosedescribed hereinafter. It may also be understood to mean a chiplesscard, such as a loyalty card, preferably made of a plastics material.The personalization may also be applied to items such as CD-ROMS orDVD-ROMS, which have similar features, notably in terms of theirthickness.

They may be identification cards, such as, for example, bank cardsand/or identity cards and/or transport cards and/or loyalty cards.

A card is defined by two opposite faces parallel in pairs, which will bereferred to as the first face and the second face, and by a peripheralsurface which surrounds the first face and the second face. Thisperipheral surface may also be referred to as the edge face or the edgeof the card.

A card may be formed of a single material or of a plurality ofmaterials, generally laminations, of various thicknesses. Theselaminations are sandwiched and assembled together to form a unitassembly. The cards may be of different thicknesses and include, forexample, cards referred to as mini SD cards, with a thickness of roughly1.4 mm, USD cards, with a thickness of around 1 mm, or even ID1-formatcards with a thickness of the order of 0.76 millimeter as defined instandard IS07816.

To personalize cards, various methods that allow all or part of thefirst face and/or of the second face to be marked are known. Notably, itis known practice to print patterns, for example using screen printing.Such printing may allow the cards to be differentiated from one anotherby applying different colorways and/or patterns.

By contrast, the edge faces of these cards are generally white, and thismay make them tricky to differentiate when stacked, for example in awallet or a card holder.

There are, however, cards the edge faces of which are personalizedindividually, notably using a laser marking technique in which analphanumeric code and/or marks are applied in the form of “bars”, forexample. Such a method requires the cards to be personalized one afteranother, and represents a significant amount of time and technicalinvestment.

The use of cards formed of one or more laminations and in which eachlamination may be mass-colored is also known. Such an embodimenttherefore makes it possible to obtain cards the edge faces of which arecolored and can therefore allow the cards to be differentiated from oneanother with ease.

However, colored laminations are more expensive than the whitelaminations traditionally used and such a method requires a significantstock of laminations of various thicknesses and various colors to beheld in order to meet the needs of the customer and the requirements ofassembling the card. Such a stock may represent a not-insignificantvolume and cost. This stock may also carry a significant risk ofobsolescence.

The present invention seeks to propose a solution that allows at leastone set of cards to be personalized easily while at the same time beingtechnically simple to carry out and low in cost.

The invention relates to a method of personalizing at least two cards,each card comprising a first face and a second face and a peripheralsurface, characterized in that the method comprises the following steps:

-   -   forming a pile of at least two cards by superposing the first        face or the second face of a card “n” in such a way that the        first face or the second face of a card “n+1” is in contact with        the first face or the second face of the card “n”;    -   aligning at least part of the peripheral surface of the card “n”        with at least part of the peripheral surface of the card “n+1”        using an alignment device so that at least part of the set of        peripheral surfaces of each card forms at least one uniform        surface;    -   applying at least one product to at least part of the uniform        surface using an application device.

Such a method may notably allow the edge face of a set of cards to bepersonalized quickly while at the same time limiting the costs moreparticularly associated with the use of mass-colored materials.

A uniform surface is to be understood as meaning that the alignedperipheral surfaces may form a substantially flat surface.

“n”, “n+1” mean that the cards may follow one another. Thus, a card “n”may also be preceded by another card that would be referred to as “n−1”,or preceding card. This same card “n” may be followed by another cardreferred to as “n+1” or following card. If a pile of cards is to beformed, then the first card may be referred to as “n”, the next will bereferred to as “n+1”, the one after that “n+2” and so on.

The expression “by superposing” may be replaced by the expression “bypiling or stacking”.

The product may also be applied to the entirety of the uniform surface.

The product applied may for example be a colored substance such as anink, a film or a colored adhesive.

In particular, the ink used may be a UV-curable ink (dried byultraviolet radiation) which has better mechanical resistancecharacteristics than solvent-based inks.

According to another embodiment, the ink may be resin-based, alsoreferred to as plastisol, which notably affords sufficient mechanicalresistance for the life of a card. By way of example, the life of a bankcard is of the order of two to three years.

Quite clearly it is possible to conceive of applying a plurality ofinks, making it possible for example to obtain a multicolored edge face.

It is for example conceivable to apply the method described topersonalize French identity documents. An identity card may thereforehave an edge face made up of three bands substantially perpendicular tothe first and second faces. The three bands may, for example, be in thefollowing colors: blue, white and red.

It is also conceivable to spray an adhesive product and then to apply toit, for example flakes or any other element in the form of particles.

It may also be conceivable to apply an infrared ink which may, forexample, make it possible to create a device that cannot be falsified.

This method may be applied to at least two cards, advantageously atleast 250 cards, and more advantageously still, 500 cards.

It is also conceivable to apply this method to a pile of severalCD-ROMS.

Depending on the number of cards and the thickness thereof, it isconceivable for the height of the pile to be at least 0.70 millimeterand in particular from 0.70 millimeter to 2 meters. Advantageously, theheight of the pile may vary from 10 centimeters to 7 centimeters andmore particularly may have a height of roughly 30 centimeters.

Advantageously, the application device may be a spraying device and moreparticularly a paint spraying device.

A spraying device may notably make it possible to obtain betterdistribution of product over the edge face of the items. This is becausein the case of an item made up of a plurality of laminations, as is thecase with certain chip cards for example, the edges are not alwaysuniform. Applying a product using a roller for example may then giverise to problems of uniformity and distribution of the substance.

More specifically, the spraying device may be of the directionalspraying type, such as an inkjet for example.

Inkjet spraying is spraying using at least one nozzle that allows verysmall droplets of ink to be sprayed.

It is notably possible to use the “drop on demand” system more usuallyknown by its English-language abbreviation “DOD”.

The application device may also be a transfer printing device and moreparticularly a thermal transfer printing device. This device works via afilm or ribbon which bears a material that is to be applied. Forpreference, the material may be a colored adhesive or even a coatedband. The coated band may be a colored band.

The ribbon is applied to the surface that is to be covered then theribbon is heated, generally via a thermal head. This step activates thetransfer of the material carried by the band onto the surface that is tobe covered.

The heating temperature may extend from 50° C. to 400° C. and preferablyfrom 150° C. to 250° C.

In this particular instance, it may be appropriate to make good anyirregularities caused by the cutting of the cards and/or by problems ofaligning the various laminations of which each card is made up. To dothis, the thermal head, which usually has a rigid surface, is replacedby a head that is malleable, and therefore flexible. It is possible forexample to use a head made from a material based at least in part onsilicone.

The thermal head is configured to withstand at least the heatingtemperature mentioned hereinabove.

Once the ink has been transferred it is possible to remove some of theink applied to the card, for example using a laser. Such ablation mayfor example make it possible to create various patterns on the edge faceof each card.

In particular, the method may involve a step consisting in

-   -   positioning a mask opposite at least part of a uniform surface        in such a way that the product is applied only to part of this        uniform surface.

Such a step may notably make it possible to create a particular patternon the edge face, or peripheral surface, of each card. The mask maytherefore be used as a stencil.

The pattern may be a series of symmetric or asymmetric repeatingpatterns.

It is also conceivable to create a particular pattern that can berecreated by reconstituting the pile of cards. This example may notablybe used for the purposes of inspiring loyalty from a customer baseand/or in the context of building up a collection, for example bypersonalizing the edge faces of telephone cards.

It is also conceivable to use a particular pattern as a check. All thatis then needed is for the personalized card to be repositioned oppositethe mask to ensure that the card has not come from a parallel economy.This example may, for example, be used in the manufacture of passports.

The method may also comprise a step consisting in:

-   -   pressing the ends of the pile towards one another using a        pressing device by applying pressure P to at least part of the        visible faces of the cards which form the ends of the pile.

Such a step may notably make it possible to hold the cards of the piletogether. It may notably be beneficial to keep these cards together ifthere is a desire to transport the pile of cards, which have been formedand aligned, from one point to another.

Such a step may also make it possible to prevent the product frominfiltrating between the cards and may thus limit the risks of burrs onthe first face or the second face of the cards.

A person skilled in the art will be able to adapt the pressure appliedto the cards of the pile notably to suit the roughness of the materialsused to form the first and second face. The person skilled in the artwill also be able to adapt the pressure applied according to theviscosity of the product used.

The pressing device may be an instrument in the form of jaws, such as avice. The pressing device may apply pressure for example via a screw oran elastic means. The elastic means may be a spring. In particular, thepressing device may be connected to a measurement means, such as adynamometer, allowing the pressure applied to be adjusted and/orreproduced.

Furthermore, the method may comprise a step consisting in:

-   -   removing the alignment device in such a way that the product can        be applied to the surface used for aligning the pile.

Furthermore, the method may comprise a step consisting in:

-   -   pre-drying, using a pre-drying device, the product applied to        the uniform surface in such a way that the product does not run        between the faces of the cards.

This step may ideally be carried out ahead of a step consisting in:

-   -   separating the cards, using a separation device so that the        product does not stick the items together.

The method may also comprise a step consisting in:

-   -   drying, using a drying device, the product applied to the        uniform surface.

Such a step may notably make it possible to limit the running of productover the faces of the cards.

The drying and/or pre-drying device may for example be a device thatdries using infrared, hot air, or any other known device.

Advantageously, the separation device is a device able to generateenough vibration to separate the cards after the drying and/orpre-drying step.

The device may generate vibration in the pile of cards so that the driedor pre-dried cards are separated from one another. This is because theproduct applied to the edge faces may fuse the cards together.

The method may notably comprise a step consisting in reducing theirregularities of the peripheral surface.

This is because each card may be cut at a certain angle. Thus, even ifthe cards are aligned with one another, the peripheral surface may beformed of a multitude of protruding elements that will be referred to aspeaks.

These peaks may generate unevennesses when the product is applied.

The idea is to reduce the peaks by adding to the method the stepmentioned hereinabove thereby obtaining a uniform surface. This step maynotably be carried out by a head which presses against the surface forapplication.

According to one first embodiment, the head may comprise a flat surfacewhich comes into contact with the surface.

According to a second embodiment, the head may be a circular head whichpasses at least in part over the surface to which at least one productis to be applied.

As an alternative, it is conceivable for the head to be stationary andfor it to be the pile of cards that comes into contact with the head.

The head may comprise an abrasion device which acts by vibration orrotation, and which thus reduces the peaks when these are in contactwith the head.

According to another embodiment, the head may comprise a heating deviceconfigured to melt the peaks.

It is conceivable for the head to be the same one as is used forapplying the product to at least part of the set of peripheral surfacesformed by the set of cards.

The method may then comprise a step for reducing the peaks using aheating head and a later step for applying a product.

The invention also relates to a card which may comprise an edge facethat is personalized using the device described hereinabove. Such a cardmay notably comprise part of the edge face which is coated with at leastone product. In particular, the product may be an ink, a film or acolored adhesive.

In particular, the card may be a card with or without a chip ormicroprocessor. The dimensions of the card may for example be roughly 85millimeters×54 millimeters×0.76 millimeters. Other dimensions are ofcourse also conceivable and it is notably conceivable to vary thethickness from 0.5 millimeter to 4 millimeters and in particular from0.7 millimeter to 1.2 millimeters.

It may also be conceivable to use this method for personalizing the edgeface of at least one CD-ROM.

The materials used for the card may for example be polymer materials oreven fibrous materials. A person skilled in the art will adapt theproduct that is to be applied to suit the material used for themanufacture of the card.

The invention also relates to a device for personalizing at least onecard, said card may comprise a first face, a second face and aperipheral surface.

The device may notably comprise at least a means for carrying out, atleast in part, one of the steps described hereinabove. In thisparticular instance, the device may comprise at least one of thefollowing elements:

-   -   a means for forming a pile of cards,    -   a means for at least partially aligning the cards,    -   a means for applying a product to at least part of the pile of        cards,    -   a means for positioning a mask opposite at least part of the        pile of cards,    -   a means for pressing the ends of the pile of cards towards one        another,    -   a means for pre-drying the product applied to at least part of        the pile of cards,    -   a means for separating the items of the pile of cards, and    -   a means for drying the product applied.

Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent inthe light of the description which follows, given with reference to thenonlimiting attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic depiction of a card that is to be personalizedusing the method of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective depiction of the personalizing deviceaccording to the invention,

FIG. 2 a is a plan view of the device of FIG. 2,

FIG. 3 is one particular embodiment, in front elevation, of a device forholding a pile of cards according to the invention,

FIG. 3 a corresponds to the plan view of FIG. 3,

FIGS. 4 a to 4 h depict front elevations of the various steps of amethod according to the invention, and the primed figures depict thecorresponding plan views.

FIG. 1 depicts a card 10 which may be a chip card. This card 10comprises a first face 12, a second face 14 and a peripheral surface 16.

As indicated in the right-hand part of FIG. 1, this peripheral surface16 may have irregularities, notably caused by the superposition of thevarious sandwiched laminations 18.

By contrast, as has been depicted in the left-hand part of FIG. 1, theperipheral surface 16 may have a substantially flat surface, notablywhen the item 10 is made in a single material. This surface may,however, have a number of irregularities caused by the cutting tool.

FIGS. 2 and 2 a depict the personalizing device 80 according to theinvention, in which a set of cards 10 has been superposed in such a waythat the set of cards 10 forms a pile 20. The cards 10 of the pile 20have been aligned by an alignment device so that the peripheral surfaces16 of each card form a substantially uniform surface.

In the example depicted, the alignment device comprises a substantiallyflat element 34 and an L-shaped element 32 the two branches of which arein contact with the flat element 34. It is conceivable for the L-shapedelement 32 to come, through a translational movement with the flatelement 34, into contact with the pile 20. Thus, the peripheral surfacesof the cards 10 are pushed in such a way that the set of cards forms apile 20 the exterior surfaces of which are substantially flat.

The personalizing device 80 also comprises a pressing device 50 intendedto press the pile 20 of cards 10 towards one of the branches of the L ofthe element 32. The cards 10 of the pile 20 are thus held in positionand the pile 20 can thus be easily moved around and/or have variousmethods applied to it.

As depicted in FIGS. 2 and 2 a, the personalizing device 80 may comprisea plurality of product application devices 40, such as paint sprayingdevices. These spraying devices may notably make it possible to obtain auniform distribution of product, such as paint, over the substantiallyuniform surface of the pile 20 of cards 10.

The personalizing device 80 may also comprise a plurality of dryingdevices 60 and/or pre-drying devices 60′ which are intended to dryand/or to pre-dry the paint, or any other product, applied to the edgefaces of the cards 10 of the pile 20. In the example depicted, thedrying devices 60 and pre-drying devices 60′ are identical but it isconceivable for them to correspond to different forms of equipment. Thedrying devices 60 and/or pre-drying devices 60′ depicted are, forexample, infrared drying devices. A person skilled in the art will quiteobviously be able to use other devices such as, for example, a dryingtunnel and/or an air blowing device, more particularly a hot-air-blowingdevice.

The person skilled in the art will adapt the number of applicationdevices 40, drying devices 60 and/or pre-drying devices 60′ according tothe number of cards 10 in the pile 20 so that each card 10 undergoes thesame treatment.

The personalizing device 80 depicted comprises a separation device 70.This separation device 70 makes it possible to generate vibrations whichencourage the cards 10 which may have fused together through the natureof the product used, to separate. As depicted, the separation device 70is applied in the region of the L-shaped element 32 but it isconceivable for the vibrations to be applied to the flat element 34, thepressing device 50 and/or directly to the pile 20.

It will be understood that, in order to achieve optimum separation ofthe cards using vibration, the pressure P applied by the pressing device50 to the ends of the pile 20 of cards 10 has to be released.

In particular, the vibration separation device may be embodied by aneccentric device (not depicted) connected to a drive device such as anelectric motor (not depicted).

The device depicted in FIGS. 2 and 2 a may notably allow two of the fourflat surfaces of the pile 20 which surfaces are formed by the edge facesof the cards 10 to be personalized. If all of the edge faces of thecards 10 are to be personalized, then all that is required is for thepile 20 of cards 10 to be repositioned so that the edge faces notpersonalized become visible and for the operation of holding andpersonalizing the cards to be repeated.

FIGS. 3 and 3 a depict one particular example of a holding device as maybe used by the method according to the invention.

This holding device may comprise two plates 36 and 36′ intended tosandwich a plurality of cards 10 between them in order to form a pile20.

The edges of the pile 20 are then aligned by a holding means whichcomprises an L-shaped element 32. This L-shaped element 32 can be heldbetween the plates 36 and 36′ by a removable device (not depicted). Theremovable device may, for example, be a screw-nut system or even asystem of retractable balls which collaborate with correspondingorifices.

The L-shaped element may be formed of two separate plates 32′ which,once assembled, form an L. It may also be conceivable for the plates 32′that form the L to slide in grooves 31 provided for that purpose in theplates 36 and 36′ (which are depicted in FIGS. 4 b to 4 d).

The L-shaped element 32 (FIGS. 3 and 3 a) and/or the plates 32′ (FIGS. 4b to 4 d′) form end stops intended to keep the pile 20 aligned. Theperson skilled in the art will quite obviously be able to adapt theshapes of these end stops. In particular, the end stops may take theform of rods, for example threaded rods, passing through the plates 36and 36′.

It is also conceivable for the plates 32′ to be masks representing aparticular pattern. It may then be conceivable to leave these masks whenapplying the product so as to reproduce the pattern represented by themasks. The masks then act as stencils.

Once the cards 10 have been placed between the plates 36, 36′ and theL-shaped element 32 has been brought into position, a tamping device 38tamps the cards 10 against the element 32 to form a pile 20 the edge ofwhich is substantially flat.

Once the pile 20 is formed, pressure P can be applied to the plates 36and 36′ along the axis Y so that the pile 20 remains formed. TheL-shaped element 32 and the tamping device 38 can then be removed tomake all of the edges of the pile 20 accessible. A product can then beapplied to all of the edges of the pile 20.

According to one particular embodiment, the pile 20 may be set inrotation about an axis Y, passing through the first and second faces ofthe cards 10. It is then possible to spray a product onto all of theedge faces of the cards 10 that form the pile 20.

Various steps for carrying out the method according to the inventionwill now be described.

In a first step, depicted in FIGS. 4 a and 4 a′, a certain number ofcards 10 are made into a pile and these cards 10 are positioned betweentwo plates 36 and 36′.

In a second step, depicted in FIGS. 4 b and 4 b′, plates 32′ intended toform an L-shaped element 32 are brought into position. These plates 32′are configured to slide in grooves 31 provided for that purpose in theplates 36 and 36′. The plates 32′ thus positioned form end stops.

It may be conceivable for the second step to be performed before thefirst step.

In a third step, depicted in FIGS. 4 c and 4 c′, the cards 10 are pushedtoward the end stops by a tamping device 38. As can be seen from FIG. 4c′ which is a plan view, the cards 10 form a pile 20 the edges of whichare perfectly aligned.

A fourth step, depicted in FIGS. 4 d and 4 d′, consists in using apressing device 50 to press the cards 10 which form the ends of the pile20 in such a way that the pile 20 is held firmly.

A fifth step, depicted in FIGS. 4 e and 4 e′, consists in removing theplates 32′ that form the end stops so that all of the edges of the pile20 which are formed by the peripheral surfaces of the items 10, areaccessible.

A sixth step, depicted in FIG. 4 f, consists in rotating the pile 20about its axis Y and using an application device 40 to spray paint ontothe edges of the pile.

a seventh step, depicted in FIG. 4 g, consists in using the dryingdevice 60 to dry the paint applied to the pile 20 of cards 10.

According to one preferred embodiment, the drying step is performed backto back with the print heads to prevent ink from migrating between thecards. The dryer may be a thermal dryer or one operating using UV(ultraviolet) radiation.

An eighth step, depicted in FIG. 4 h, may consist in removing the plates36 and 36′ in order to recover the cards 10.

A plurality of cards 10 is thus obtained, the edge faces of which cardsmay be colored.

The personalizing device and/or the various steps of the method canquite obviously be adapted to suit the number of cards that are to bepersonalized and the type of personalization.

Thus, and as has been described earlier, it is possible to adapt otherspraying and/or drying steps, notably where there is a desire to applyvarious products to the edges of the items.

It is also possible to add pre-drying and/or vibration steps if use isbeing made of a product that carries a risk of fusing the itemstogether.

If the method is to be applied to a set of circular items such asCD-ROMs, then quite obviously the shapes of the end stops and of thetamping device will be adapted to suit.

According to another embodiment, the application device comprises acylindrical heated print head which comes into contact with the surfacethat is to be covered. A ribbon is inserted between the print head andthe surface that is to be covered. The ribbon comprises a backingelement and an element that is to be applied. This ribbon is drivenwhile the head hugs the surface that is to be covered, so as to transferthe element that is to be applied onto the surface that is to becovered.

1. A method of personalizing at least two cards (10), each card (10)comprising a first face (12) and a second face (14) and a peripheralsurface (16), characterized in that the method comprises the followingsteps: forming a pile (20) of at least two cards (10) by superposing thefirst face (12) or the second face (14) of a card “n” in such a way thatthe first face or the second face of a card “n+1” is in contact with thefirst face (12) or the second face (14) of the card “n”; aligning atleast part of the peripheral surface (16) of the card “n” with at leastpart of the peripheral surface of the card “n+1” using an alignmentdevice (32, 34; 32, 38; 31, 32′, 38) so that at least part of the set ofperipheral surfaces of each card forms at least one uniform surface;applying at least one product to at least part of the uniform surfaceusing an application device (40).
 2. The method as claimed in claim 1,characterized in that it further comprises a step consisting in:positioning a mask opposite at least part of a uniform surface in such away that the product is applied only to part of this uniform surface. 3.The method as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that it furthercomprises a step consisting in: pressing the ends of the pile (20)towards one another using a pressing device (50) by applying pressure Pto at least part of the visible faces of the cards which form the endsof the pile (20).
 4. The method as claimed in claim 1, characterized inthat it comprises a step consisting in: removing the alignment device(32, 34; 32, 38; 31, 32′, 38) in such a way that the product can beapplied to the surface used for aligning the pile (20).
 5. The method asclaimed in claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a step consistingin reducing the irregularities of the peripheral surface.
 6. The methodas claimed in claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises thefollowing steps: pre-drying, using a pre-drying device (60′), theproduct applied to the uniform surface in such a way that the productdoes not run between the faces (12, 14) of the cards; separating thecards (10), using a separation device (70) so that the product does notstick the cards together.
 7. The method as claimed in claim 1,characterized in that it further comprises a step consisting in: drying,using a drying device (60), the product applied to the uniform surface.8. The method as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that theapplication device (40) is a spraying device.
 9. The method as claimedin claim 1, characterized in that the separation device (70) is a deviceable to generate enough vibration to separate the cards (10) after thedrying and/or pre-drying step.
 10. The method as claimed in claim 9,characterized in that the spraying device is an inkjet.
 11. The methodof personalizing as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that theapplication device is a transfer device.
 12. The method of personalizingas claimed in claim 11, characterized in that the transfer device is athermal transfer.
 13. The method as claimed in claim 11, characterizedin that the transfer device comprises a head made of a malleablematerial.
 14. The method as claimed in claim 13, characterized in thatthe malleable material that forms the head is a material that, at leastin part, contains silicone.
 15. The method as claimed in claim 1,characterized in that the product is a UV-curable ink.
 16. The method asclaimed in claim 1, characterized in that the product is a resin-basedink.
 17. A card comprising a personalized edge face comprising at leastpart of its peripheral surface covered with at least one product such asan ink or a film or a colored adhesive, the card being producedaccording to the method of claim
 1. 18. A device (80) for personalizingat least two cards (10), each card (10) comprising a first face, asecond face and a peripheral surface, the device comprising at least ameans for carrying out, at least in part, one of the steps of the methodas claimed in claim
 1. 19. The method as claimed in claim 2,characterized in that it further comprises a step consisting in:pressing the ends of the pile (20) towards one another using a pressingdevice (50) by applying pressure P to at least part of the visible facesof the cards which form the ends of the pile (20).
 20. The method asclaimed in claim 2, characterized in that it comprises a step consistingin: removing the alignment device (32, 34; 32, 38; 31, 32′, 38) in sucha way that the product can be applied to the surface used for aligningthe pile (20).